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Main:Kristen Maloney
Hackettstown, New Jersey, USA |Row 4 title = Years on National Team |Row 4 info = 1993-2001 |Row 5 title = Club |Row 5 info = Parkettes National |Row 6 title = Coach(es) |Row 6 info = Donna Strauss |Row 7 title = Current status |Row 7 info = Retired |Row 8 title = College team |Row 8 info = UCLA Bruins}}Kristen Ann Maloney (born March 10, 1981, Hackettstown, New Jersey), is a retired gymnast from Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, United States, who was coached by Donna Strauss in the 2000 Olympics and won bronze in the Team Event. Maloney was also the U.S. senior all-around National Champion in 1998 and 1999 and the 1998 Goodwill Games gold medalist on the balance beam. Gymnastics Career Maloney trained at the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was a consistent member of the U.S. national gymnastics team from 1993 to 2000. She competed in a variety of minor international competitions as a junior elite and, as a senior, qualified for the 1996 Olympic Trials. Although Maloney only finished fourteenth at the Trials and received little media attention in the shadow of the "Magnificent Seven", she was one of the most prominent American gymnasts from 1997 to 2000. The U.S. National Champion in the all-around in 1998 and 1999, Maloney was a key member of the American team at several major international meets. She participated in the 1997 and 1999 World Championships teams, earned a gold medal on the balance beam at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, and won the all-around at the 1998 Pacific Alliance Championships. Maloney ended her elite career at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where she placed fourth with the American team and nineteenth in the individual all-around. The fourth place was upgraded to bronze ten years later after Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao was found to be too young to compete and the bronze-medal winning Chinese team was disqualified. After the Olympics, Maloney attended UCLA on a full athletic scholarship and competed in NCAA gymnastics with the Bruins. There she earned All-American honors and scored perfect 10.0s at several meets, functioning as a strong team leader. In her final college competition, the NCAA Championships, Maloney placed second in the all-around behind teammate Tasha Schwikert, won gold on vault and floor, and displayed Olympic-level technique by successfully completing a double-twisting Yurchenko vault and a full twisting double layout on floor exercise. Maloney was plagued by persistent injuries throughout her elite and collegiate careers. A nagging stress fracture led to placement of a titanium rod in her leg (whence her name "K-Rod" among some fans). In the wake of one wave of extremely serious injury and illness, Maloney missed two full years of competition with the Bruins; her subsequent return to full form earned her UCLA's C.H.A.M.P.S. Inspirational Award. Maloney graduated from UCLA in 2005 and worked as a gymnastics coach in California. One of her gymnasts was Shavahn Church, a member of the British national team. She was living in Europe and working with Cirque du Soleil. She now teaches preschool in Queens, New York. Maloney began working as an assistant coach for the University of New Hampshire gymnastics team in the 2010-2011 season. Medal Count Floor Music 1993 - "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller 1995 - "Sweet Georgia Brown" 1996 - "Georgia On My Mind" 1997 - "Greased Lightning/Born to Hand Jive/ Rock 'n Roll Party Queen" from Grease 1998 - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHqMkb4xkww "All That Jazz/ Entr'act/ Hot Honey Rag/ Finale" from Chicago] 1999 - "Overture/Dance at the Gym/Prologue" by Leonard Bernstein from West Side Story 2000 - "Istanbul" by Joe Carr and "Puttin on the Ritz" by Terry Snyder